Simply good teaching : supporting transformation and change through Education for Sustainability

This article proposes that Education for Sustainability (EfS), with its focus on transformative and learner-centred approaches, and higher order thinking skills, enriches teaching and learning in Vocational Education and Training (VET), with implications for quality pedagogy more generally. EfS pedagogy has the potential to inform a new discourse on VET's role in citizenship and responsibility for the future, characterised by some as a shift from productivism to ecologism, and described by UNESCO/ILO as critical thinking towards sustainable development. After reviewing the literature on quality pedagogy in VET, as well as on EfS itself, this article evaluates the impact and effectiveness of a nationwide professional development program to upskill VET practitioners in EfS pedagogy. Early findings indicate personal transformations for participants both as individuals and VET professionals, with high levels of teaching practice enhancement generally through uptake of EfS principles and practice. Based on our findings, we draw conclusions and make recommendations for further research.